


I've Got Your Back, Quite Literally

by Musicgiveslife18



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: 3rd person switching pov, I'm sorry if it gets a little confusing, M/M, Mild Gore, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), also i know that zora don't blush cause duh they're fish, but i just wanted some cute shit so in my world they blush as bright as the sun thank you very much, but they weren't involved enough for me to actually tag them, it's mostly cheesy shit so please enjoy, link gets injured, link has swearing rights, link swears a bit internally, please let my boy say fuck, sidon helps him because how can he not help this adorable mess, there are other characters like Gaddison and Cleff, there's some kissin but nothing intense because i didn't want to write porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24730630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musicgiveslife18/pseuds/Musicgiveslife18
Summary: Link does this every month, it's not new for him. The rise of the blood moon only means one thing for him: Lynels, and lots of them. So, every month he goes hunting, and he doesn't stop until every single one of them has fallen to his blade- or a few well-shot arrows. Once he's finished, he needs some help and some healing, and there's only one place he wants to go.-----This is written for lozbotwfanart's Hyrule Pride Week! Day two, mlm, and I had to write something about my favorite boys (well, I've actually been writing this for a while, but- hpw gave me an excuse to kick my ass into gear and actually edit this). Enjoy! and if you want to see other works from this week, check out #hyruleprideweek on Tumblr!
Relationships: Link & Prince Sidon, Link/Prince Sidon
Comments: 13
Kudos: 215





	I've Got Your Back, Quite Literally

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note, Gaddison is the guard that patrols the east domain bridge leading to reservoir lake, Cleff is the zora who runs the domain general goods store, and Marot is the one who stands outside of the store and shouts to Link whenever he passes by. I did my best to make things as accurate as possible to the game(ignore the fact that Zora blush in this fic-) since I want this to just be a simple one-shot, so no, Sidon does not get his own room since it's assumed he sleeps in the sleeping pools with the rest of the Zora.
> 
> Spoken Dialogue is in quotation marks " " and signed lines are in brackets [ ]
> 
> Please check out the end for more notes, I don't want to keep you long. I hope you enjoy!

The wind drifts over Link’s shoulder, wrapping around his aching limbs as he looks up at the beast in front of him. Both of them are covered in cuts from arrows, burns from lightning, and slashes from swords. Link survived this time, he couldn’t say the same for the Lynel

It isn’t going to, at least, not with the amount of blood pouring from its wounds and the electricity still surging through its body, there were even arrows lodged all over its flank and chest. Link prefers fighting this way. Arrows are easier, simple, and he feels more comfortable keeping his distance from the savage weapons all Lynels seem to carry, the swords are much wider and taller than Link is. He had, of course, fought as many Lynels with just the master sword as he could, he wanted to save his arrows for the strong ones, like this one- the coliseum Lynel always gave him more trouble than the rest. His arms ached from all of the arrows he had nocked, and from climbing rapidly to find a place to jump from; He always shot better in the air.

The dull throb in Link’s fingers and arms seems to drown out his hearing as the Lynel finally slouches forward, disappearing in a puff of smoke as its weapons and treasure clatters to the ground where it once stood. 

Link is… Tired, more tired than he realizes. He stumbles up and gathers the treasure, throwing everything in his bag without a second thought. He would sort through them later, but right now he could barely walk. It was like all of the energy he that had been coursing through him for the last few days disappeared, all of it slipped away as soon as the last Lynel had collapsed. Of course, it was worth it - people were safe now, people he cared about, people he loved…

As Link’s thoughts drift to everywhere he’s been over the past few days, he starts to lean forward, his knees striking the ground as he lets out a hiss. His hand shoots to his side, a burn from an eclectic arrow stretched over his left side all the way to his ribs. The lines surrounding it jutted out like lightning- fantastic, he’d been hit. He sighs and calmly stands up, still wincing as he stumbles forward, only managing to stop his fall by grabbing a spear and using it to prop himself up. He needs help, elixirs- He ran out yesterday and stupidly thought he would make it through the next day before needing to make any pitstops. He has nothing. 

He grits his teeth as he pulls out the Sheikah slate and lingers his finger over a certain, well-visited spot on the map. He knows where to go.

With a tap of his finger, he feels his body start to fade away in glowing blue light as he is lifted off of the ground. He puts the spear away, not wanting to worry his friend too much upon his arrival.

\-------------------------

A moment later, Link is standing on the Ne'ez Yohma Shrine entrance, surrounded by a pool of water. He can hear crabs scuttling around him as he wades through the pool and up the blue steps that lead to the Zora Domain proper. Link shifts his bag so it covers his side, he doesn’t want to worry anyone too much just yet, but he’s also struggling to walk. Had he done something to his leg? It didn’t matter- not yet, anyway. He would be fine, he always is. He nods to Marot at the shop entrance and lends her a smile as he walks around Mipha’s statue. He pauses, bittersweet nostalgia swimming through his chest as he forgets about his injuries for a moment.

“Link!” a bright voice cut into Link’s thoughts as he blinks and looks to the stairs to his left. He feels his cheeks warm at the sight of Sidon running towards him, it looks like he had been returning to his post in front of the throne room just as Link came up from the shrine. 

“Link, my friend, my treasured Hylian- It’s been so long!” Sidon practically shouts through smiling lips as he lifts Link into his arms and spins him around - ouch. Link freezes and bites his cheeks until he can feel the skin break, that stung, but he doesn’t let it show as he forces a smile and hugs Sidon back.

“It’s been more than a month since we’ve seen you last, I was getting worried, poor Cleff has been gathering arrows for you since then, he was getting worried that you hadn’t cleaned out his stock yet!” Sidon chuckles as he sets the Hylian down, his smile so bright it causes Link’s face to darken more with each passing second.

[I’ll apologize later, it’s good to be back], Link signed, he can’t hide the warm smile that slowly climbs up his cheeks, [Are you alright? You look tired].

There were dark circles just under Sidon’s eyes, but the Prince simply waved dismissively and kept his smile up, “I’m perfectly fine, Link. I simply haven’t been getting enough sleep, is all.” His smile looks more forced than usual, not that it was easy to tell, but Link was used to seeing Sidon’s genuine, kind smiles- and this isn’t one of them.

Link raises his eyebrow at Sidon and pokes the Zora’s arm gently, [You look awful, Sidon. You promised me you would try and get more sleep].

Sidon’s smile falters for a second before he lets out a sigh, “I look awful, do I? You’ve wounded my pride, Link,” He chuckles as he placed a hand over his heart dramatically, looking up at Mipha’s statue for a quick moment before focusing his attention back on Link.

[You know what I mean. I get worried about you] Link signs as he looks down at his hands for a moment, rather than at the glowing yellow eyes looking down at him.

Sidon smiles endearingly and places a hand on Link’s shoulder, “I have far more reasons to worry about you, my friend. It seems you’re always coming back to the domain with some injury or another, with a tale of another great beast slain at the cost of your health.”

Link flinched, oh gods- right, injuries… [Just because you aren’t fighting monsters all of the time doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be worried. You-]

Link’s hands pause in mid-air- why are Sidon’s arms red? More red than usual at least. Link grabs the prince’s arm and inspects the red liquid that had spattered over his them. There aren’t any cuts, he can’t see any wounds- where had this come from?

“Link I- what, oh my, where did that-” The Zora’s eyes went wide, “Link, by Hylia’s grace-” a clawed hand grabbed his shoulder and whipped him around, his eyes widening as he started to lose his balance. Sidon catches him and holds him by his shoulders, carefully looking over something on Link’s back. 

Link starts shaking a bit once Sidon finally notices his wounds, and he starts realizing how many other people are settled in the domain proper at that moment, “Goddesses above- Link, your back is- you’re torn up! Talk about injuries- This needs attention right now, how long has this been here?! Can you feel this? You should have told me-” Sidon pulls the Hylian close as he starts to head towards the throne room to find healers, but Link rips his shoulder away and stumbles back, his eyes darting around to everything in the area. Sidon looks surprised, “Wh- Link, Link You’re injured, you need help-”

Link shakes his head and looks around them, a few guards had noticed and were starting to come over, looking more worried than angry, and he can definitely see a few fan club members standing at the top of the stairs- he felt his heart racing.

[You], Link signs quickly as he keeps looking around them, [Just you help me, please].

Shock paints itself over Sidon’s face, he can’t- Link needs help, he needs real healers and potions and a healing pool, he needs bandages and more help than he can offer, and he was going to tell Link this but- Then he looks down. He looks at the small Hylian in front of him who’s casting nervous looks to the guards around them and is shaking so hard Sidon thinks he’s going to pass out. Sidon bites his cheek and nods, quickly throwing on a smile as he turns Link so his back was facing, and hidden by, the Prince, “We’re perfectly alright over here! Please, return to your posts.”

The guards look confused, something had definitely been going on but- they know better than to question Sidon, especially when the hero of Hyrule is involved. They assume their positions as Sidon leads Link up the stairs and to the East walkway out of the Domain. 

Link’s eyes go wide as he looked down, not saying anything until they pass Gaddison - who offers the pair a friendly hello - [Where are we going?]

“East of the reservoir, that’s the only place we’re guaranteed any privacy,” Sidon explains as he walks behind Link, only moving when they’re out of eye-sight from Gaddison.

Link nods, letting out a breath of relief as his shoulders finally drop and he starts to feel his heart calming down. He didn’t realize it, but as they walk, the small limp he had been focusing on reappears. Sidon takes note of it with a frown as he leads Link up the small hill to the reservoir stairs.

Their walk is slow, it takes them quite a bit to climb the first hill they come across, and Link isn’t reacting to a thing. While Sidon wants to respect Link’s image, he can’t ignore the limp for much longer. The Prince sighs, hand still holding onto Link’s shoulder, “My friend, you’re in terrible condition, you can’t walk like this.”

Link shakes his head and gently waves away Sidon’s hand, [I’ll be fine. Besides, who’s commenting about whose appearance now?] He signs with a pained smile.

“You look like you’re ready to fall over-”

Link sighs, his smile dropping, [I’ll. Be. Fine.]

His face set in stone to the path ahead of him, not looking up as he signs slowly and deliberately to Sidon… Which hurts, the prince can’t lie, but he is used to this from Link. His brash behavior when he is hurt, it isn’t uncommon. Sidon sighs under his breath, muttering about iron wills as he steps behind the Hylian and scoops him into his still-blood-stained arms.

This is- unexpected for Link, to say the least. He lets out a small squeak and scrambles to grab Sidon’s shoulders, clinging to the Zora without thinking. His cheeks and ears flush brightly as he turns a glare towards Sidon, who is whistling a happy tune and looking to the stairs ahead of them, “Lovely day isn’t it, my friend?”

Sidon hears Link mutter something about iron wills- he lets out a deep, hearty laugh and shakes his head at his small friend, “Same to you, ‘Mr. Hero’.” 

The rest of their walk is quiet, Link figures struggling is useless, and… He doesn’t think he can walk anyway. He definitely wouldn’t be able to make it up those stairs, it usually leaves him tired on days he’s fully functioning. He resigns quietly and leans against Sidon’s chest, letting his eyes close for a bit as he listens to the steady beat of the Zora’s heart, which was almost impossible to hear through his thick skin. 

Sidon can’t help but look down a few times as he climbs the stairs, feeling a bit more at ease when he sees that Link’s eyes are closed. He looks over the Hylian’s face, the crinklings slowly forming around his lips from his usual, steadfast frown or neutral look, and the ones around his eyes - he could picture Link’s intense gaze, the look he always put on when he was hunting or trying to solve a puzzle, or when he was angry- Hylia forgive anyone who angered Link. He doesn’t look so dangerous now, not with his hair shining in the setting sun, his tan cheeks (which boasted a slight tan line from the Gerudo clothing he liked to don so often) and rosy ears, which always seemed so cold, even in warm weather. Sidon smiled, but also held in a sigh - it was a shame that the only time he could see Link like this was when he was too hurt to argue.

They reached the top of the stairs before Sidon even realized he was staring at Link. He clears his throat out of habit, which startles Link awake. He had fallen asleep? He had legitimately fallen asleep, it shocked him that he felt so calm. He rubs his eyes and looks over the lake, the sun had settled over Ruto’s Precipice, it must be early evening by now. Sidon carefully sets Link down on the grotto’s bed, being careful not to touch the hero’s back. He moves over to a chest near the bed and pulls out a few health potions. He was muttering to himself about potency and what ones to use, he isn’t exactly a healer… Not as well as Mipha had been, anyway. He brings over a few bottles and sets them on the bed next to Link.

“I think this should be enough to stop the bleeding and any infections that could develop, but there’s already some spots that have healing and I can see certain parts of the wound that have healed incorrectly, and I don’t know what to do if any advanced-” Sidon’s words become rushed as he looks over the potions again and only stops when Link places a hand on his wrist,

[Sidon, breathe].

Sidon pauses for a moment, returning Link’s smile as his cheeks heat up, “Ah- right, I apologize, I’m just- worried, I don’t want to hurt you further…”

[It’s elixirs, Sidon. I’ll be ok. I’ve done a lot more with a lot less. You have room for error] Link looked a bit coy as he signed, trying to lighten the worry Sidon is giving him.

“That’s- Link-” Sidon lets out a frustrated sigh as he opens one of the bottles, “You worry me, my friend. Now, let me see your wound.”

There’s a moment of shuffling as Link turns around and faces away from Sidon. He feels nervous, letting someone else treat his injuries is difficult for him. He has a feeling that he let people do it before, a long time ago, but… It didn’t matter, he’s hurt now and he has to deal with it, and he would have to go through hell to get to his back if he were alone.

Link gasps once he feels the elixir pour over his injury. He groans softly and leans forward as Sidon moves the tear in his tunic so he can see the wound better. The bits of mangled skin that had begun to heal started opening back up. It looks like Sidon was right, infections that had started to form disappeared as the wound reversed its progress, but- oh gods, oh no, the bleeding was starting again-

Link groans again and squeezes the slack of his trousers, fuck that hurts.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry Link- I, it’s bleeding again, the first elixir is still working-” Sidon starts to babble as he grabs bandages from the chest and presses them against Link’s back, Shit, he doesn’t know how to handle this-

[Let it work], Link quickly signs through shaking hands. He starts to panting through gritted teeth as he leans his head onto his knees, he must have been cut pretty bad for it to hurt this much, and yet he hadn’t noticed it until today.

Sidon is still panicking, he can’t just let Link suffer like this, but he can’t get a healer, he has to do something, do anything-

He doesn’t have to think for long, he knows Link will survive this, he’s being healed by the elixir but, Link is doubled over in pain, his knuckles white from gripping his pants and his whole body is shaking- Sidon has to act, he can’t stand seeing this.

Without another thought, he gently takes away the bandages and places his hand a few inches away from the wound, letting the tips of his claws carefully press into the marred flesh. Sidon takes a deep breath and leans forward, placing his free hand over the back of Link’s and squeezing it. Link doesn’t have a chance to lift his hands to ask what the hell Sidon is doing- he feels it.

A warm, glowing light encapsulates his back, Link feels the pain slowly fade away as his skin heals over and his blood stops pouring. The elixir, with this added magical boost, works a hell of a lot faster, the deepest parts of the wound slowly closing. He slowly loosens his grip on his trousers, and he feels like he can breathe again. He looks at Sidon’s hand, and it feels warm. Usually, Zora skin was cold, both from its thickness and the blood beneath, but now it felt warm, warmer than anything Link has ever felt, but it doesn’t burn. It felt… Right. But how…?

He tries not to think about it too much, not when he feels better now than he has for the past few days- hell, the past few weeks. Link turned his hand around and slipped his fingers between Sidon’s, squeezing them tightly. He hears a small gasp from behind him, and he could almost swear that the magic became even warmer after that. It only lasted for a moment, but that’s all Link could think about, the warmth, not only from the magic but from the body that had somehow moved right behind his.

After a moment, Link feels his body go slack; not completely slack, but he hadn’t realized how tense his body has been since it was trying to desperately heal a serious wound. He slips forward and almost falls face-first into the bed, but the hand that had been gripping his own quickly moves to wrap around his chest. Despite the claws and muscle he could feel through the Zora’s skin, it’s nothing but gentle, carefully pulling him close as one hand remains on his back.

Sidon just about lost his cool again when Link fell forward, but he could still feel the Hylian’s heart beating, and he could hear him breathing- he’s alive, just exhausted. Sidon lets out a deep breath as he carefully cradles Link close and focuses on the task at hand. He doesn’t have much of his energy left, and he can’t heal the cut fully, but he could at least stop the bleeding and help speed up the effects of the elixir. It took a few minutes before Sidon could feel his energy rapidly sapping away; he needed to stop, and He knows can’t pass out on Link, not when he’s like this. Sidon pulls his hand away and carefully tugs Link towards him until the Hylian’s head is resting against his chest. Link is awake, but Sidon wasn’t sure until he saw wide blue eyes staring up at him.

Both stayed still, yellow and blue eyes locked together as Sidon’s arm settled across Link’s chest and over his shoulder. Link had never felt safer in his life, his entire being wanted Sidon to pull him closer and hide his body until no one in the world could see him. It wasn’t very often that he didn’t feel the eyes of his princess upon him, or the souls of the lost champions urging him forward, pushing him to regain his strength and free their memory- but none of that pressure is here now. None of their gazes seemed to affect him when he was looking into such glowing, comforting eyes. He still felt warm, his back tingling and his blood rushing to his cheeks and ears as he felt the golden aura around them begin to fade. Suddenly, the two of them blinked away their stupor and seemed to realize how close they were, but they didn’t move.

Sidon clears his throat and finally looks away, and Link has to fight to urge to grab his face and pull it back. The Prince can barely contain the beating of his heart, “I, suppose… That was a bit of a surprise.”

[You have magic], Link signed weakly, He hadn’t made himself look away yet, even with shock clear on his features and a lot of questions floating in his head, he couldn’t bring himself to turn his gaze in any other direction.

“... Yes, I do,” Sidon murmurs as he pulls one hand away to nervously run over his headfin, “I… I can’t fully explain it. After we lost Mipha, I… It wasn’t immediate, after all- I never thought I would be able to heal, I always seemed to be more gifted in battle, but…” He shakes his head, trying to put the words together in a way that made sense, “One day, a few years after the calamity, I had been trying to swim up the falls. I had scarcely gone any water since the loss of my sister, I barely touched anything that wasn’t the sleeping pools. I don’t know what overcame me, perhaps a need to prove to Mipha’s memory that I was strong, show her that I was ready to protect the domain, so, there I found myself at the base of the falls that lead to Toto Lake. I… failed, unsurprisingly. It takes plenty of time and plenty of practice to swim the falls effectively, and I hadn’t tried in years…” His face twisted at the memory. Link subtly placed his hand over one of Sidon’s arms, silently urging him to continue.

“...Well, during one of my many failed attempts, I fell against the rocks at the base of the falls and scraped my arms,” He chuckled softly and rested his hand against his neck, the memory came to him like it was only a few days ago, “I have no idea how long I sat in the water crying, crying over the wounds, over my sister, over the loss of a mother whom I had scarcely known, all of whom I felt had abandoned me... but, suddenly, I had a feeling of what to do. I can’t explain it, nor truly describe how I knew what needed to be done, but I placed a hand over one of the cuts, and… I felt a warmth spread through me, through my hand and back into my arm. Before I could blink, my wounds were healed. I… I don’t know if Mipha gave her powers to me, or if I simply had my own that I was never aware of, but… Ever since that day, I’ve done my best to develop them, but I could only grow them to a certain extent… I don’t think I’ll ever have the skills of a true healer, of someone like Mipha, but…” He shakes his head and looks back down at Link, surprised to see blue eyes still intently gazing up at him, “I’m so sorry- if I had acted sooner- I didn’t know how you would react, I didn’t know if I would be able to truly help, or if I would end up doing slower work than the elixirs alone-”

Link reaches one of his hands up and grabbed Sidon’s arm, giving the prince a warm smile as he pulled a webbed hand closer to hold it, [You helped. Thank you].

Sidon can’t stop the blush that claims his cheeks- if he were paying attention, maybe he could have seen the red dusting Link’s face or the pounding of the heart resting beneath his arm, but he’s too focused on the racing of his own heart.

[Your magic], Link signed, the hand that had been holding Sidon’s coming up to help him articulate his words, but he made sure to keep the Prince’s arm pressed against his chest, [It’s warm. Not Like Mipha, but good.]

Sidon feels his heart leap into his throat. Just a few words- just a few words and a well-placed smile is all it takes to make the Crown Prince of the Zora fall speechless, even if it only works when coming from a certain Hylian. 

They both sit like this for another minute, Sidon being at a loss for words and Link at a loss for actions- Sidon’s eyes go wide as he suddenly seems to remember what exactly had been going on. He has to help Link- and no, he was not thinking about how good it felt to have the Hylian’s weight on top of him, and he definitely was NOT thinking about how soft those golden, flowing locks felt splayed over his chest-

“We- need to give you more elixirs. I stopped the bleeding, but the wound is still open-” Sidon’s words are rushed and nervous as if he has been caught in a lie. Without thinking, he tries to carefully turn Link over so he can inspect the wound again. Link lets out a small yelp as Sidon grabs his side. The Prince rips his hands away and looks down at Link as if he had just broken the hero’s spine, “What- L, Link!” The color drains from his face as he sees the deep burn and stretching lightning patterns across Link’s side, “You, you didn’t- how, how could you- Hylia above, why didn’t you tell me?!” Anger flew across his face for a split second, but Sidon resigns to sighing and glaring at Link, “Whatever tried to kill you is going to have to wait in line behind me.”

Ah, there it is, the look Link always gives. He blushes and rubs the back of his head in embarrassment, goddesses above- this Hylian is trying to melt Sidon’s heart.  
“It’s- I just need to help, Link,” Sidon explains gently as he cups Link’s face for a moment (oh goddesses- he hadn’t meant to do that, what in the name of Hyrule is wrong with him-), “May I remove your tunic? I need to inspect the burn closer.” 

More blush, another pause. There sure is a lot of that happening, isn’t there? Link nods and slowly raises his arms. If Sidon doesn’t kill him, his heart certainly will- are Hylian hearts supposed to beat this fast? For this long?

Sidon swallows nervously again, his throat is starting to become dry. If he could sweat, he would definitely be doing so right about now. He carefully grabs the bottom of Link’s tunic and starts pulling it over the Hylian’s head. Link had to partially sit up in order for Sidon to be able to take the article of clothing off, but he shivers as he feels claws gently scrape his shoulders as they lift the sleeves off. 

Sidon folds the tunic delicately and sets it aside, feeling his blush spread over his face as he looks over at Link again. The Hylian hasn’t turned around, and the injury on his back still worries Sidon- but the scars scattering the rest of his skin, the soft dip of his shoulders into his neck, the bits of hair that clung to his skin from sweat and grime- He shakes his head. He is a Prince, for Hylia’s sake- a Crowned Prince, he can’t be having thoughts like this about his friend(who happens to be the HERO of HYRULE), no matter how hard they are to keep at bay.

Link is- losing it. No sugar coating it, he’s going batshit crazy. All in his head, of course, but he feels like he’s going to explode. What is he doing?! He had come here for help, yet he almost didn’t accept any help in the first place. If he needed healing this badly, he could have gone to gut-check rock and laid in the springs until his body healed, he could have gone back to Hateno and drunk his weight in Elixers and had a few good meals. He could have gone to Kakariko and had any number of Hylian healers tend to him, hell, he could have actually accepted help from the domain healers- why did he come here? Why did he insist that only Sidon help him?

Link has his answer as soon as he feels Sidon carefully grab his shoulders and pull him back so he’s laying down in front of the Prince. Gods, for a hero, he can be pretty fucking stupid- at least he was aware by now.

“Ah- I’m sorry, my friend, I should have asked- but I, need to look at the burn…”

Link just nods, keeping his eyes glued on the grotto ceiling above them as is heart tries setting the record for fasted beats-per-minute in a Hylian. Lights attached to the pier and support beams come to life, suddenly illuminating the grotto around them, and a certain pair of yellow eyes that were looking down at Link- shit, when had it gotten dark? How long have they been out there? 

Sidon feels his heart seize up as he swallows and bends down to look at Link’s side, Hylia- what is he doing?! He should have fought Link and gotten the healers, and yet here he sits, making his friend uncomfortable because he can’t keep his feelings in check long enough to get help- this is unacceptable, he was being inappropriate clearly there’s some miscommunication happening and he needs to start picking up on Link’s hints- The hero was looking away, his face is red, he looks tenser that Sidon has ever seen him, how were these anything accept signs that Sidon needed to back off? He just needs to heal his friend, that’s all, nothing more.

The Prince lets out a small sigh as he sits up, “The burn is worse than I thought… It looks to have spread over most of your chest, I don’t know how you were walking with this…” He shakes his head and grabs another elixir to pour over the burn, “I won’t be able to heal you until I have time to recover my energy, I’m sorry…”

Link shakes his head, he loses his reserve for a moment as he looks up and places a hand over the webbed fist resting on the bed, near his injury, “Sidon, it’s ok.”

… Oh. Had Sidon’s name always sounded so angelic? Had hearing it always made his body feel this warm? The dull thud of his heart seems to be pushing from Sidon’s chest all the way to the tips of his toes and claws, and all from just a few words- yet again, small phrases like that would be the death of him. 

When Sidon doesn’t say anything, Link lays his head back down, keeping his hand in place as he seems to mull over his words for a moment, “Mipha’s magic always felt… Cold. Never bad, never malicious, but she… It was like she was sending you off into battle, like… Like a Queen healing her soldiers before returning to the fight. She was strong and determined, so her magic reflected that. Your magic feels…” The words are harder for this one, much harder, “... Warm,” He looks up at Sidon, ignoring the heart currently lodged in his throat and the blood rushing away from his back and to his face, “Like, a fire on a stormy night, or a cloak during a blizzard. It feels… Safe. You-” Feel safe “Your magic is different but good… different but… Safe. I don’t think it’s Mipha’s power, I think it’s yours.”

Sidon was speechless, how- how could someone respond to that? He feels like he can’t accept- there’s no way he can accept such praise, and adoration- but coming from Link, it feels wrong to do anything but. He just blushes and looks away, a smile stretching over his heated cheeks, “... Thank you, Link.”

They both stay silent for a while after that, clearly, there’s a lot on their minds, a lot to mull over. Mixed signals both think they misinterpreted, words to think over, again and again, to see what meanings they truly hold. The Prince takes a moment during his thoughts and pours elixirs over Link’s burn as the latter closes his eyes and tries not to think about the feeling of being wrapped up in strong, smooth arms.

Sidon is the first to speak up. He had been meaning to ask something since they had made it up to the lake, but he had been distracted multiple times, for multiple reasons. He wanted to ask before it was too late, “Link… What did this to you?”

Link freezes up- shit, he was hoping to avoid this question. He looks over at the dock leading out into the reservoir as he brings up his hands, [Lynel]

“... I know I should not be surprised at this point, but goddesses above, Link…” Sidon sighs and sets another empty bottle aside, “Why in Hyrule were you fighting a Lynel?”

Link twists his hands in the sheets of the bed for a moment before answering, [Hunting. Blood Moon].

Another pause - Sidon is starting to think the silences he and Link share are becoming just as important as their words, “Link, a few nights ago, just after the blood moon rose to its peak, the guards heard roaring coming from Shatterback Point, was that…?”

… Link doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything.

“Hunting… Have you been, you’ve been hunting the Lynels- Link, it’s been four days since the Blood moon- have you been hunting the Lynels for four days?!” His voice grows tense from worry.

… More silence.

“Link… Why, why would you- one Lynel could easily reak havoc over the entire domain, yet you faced countess numbers all on your own- why would you put your life at risk? I- Hyrule needs you, the Domain needs you, I-”

“You already said it.”

Sidon freezes, “What- Said what, Link?”

The Hylian finally looks up- fully up, into Sidon’s eyes as he turns his head back over, “You… Already said it. One Lynel could easily reak havoc over the entire Domain.”

“... Oh.”

Not another word is spoken as Sidon gets up, looking for more elixirs, he- He can’t even think, his heart is pounding so loudly he can barely breathe, let alone think about just how much weight Link’s words carried, Oh.

Link winces, shit, he messed up again- he said too much- how is it possible for him to say too much?! Yet, he did it, and he fucked up, more than he could handle. He looks away and closes his eyes, trying to hold back tears as he raises a hand to lay on his chest. Did he just ruin a friendship? Did he just lose the only family he could remember? The only… The only person he felt like he could finally trust...

Sidon looks back over, and he- Hylia, his heart brakes. He can see the tears slipping out from under Link’s eyelids as he attempts to look away and hide. The red in his cheeks, the grip of his hand over his chest, and the other that was practically tearing the bedsheets- how had he not seen it? How could he not notice the care pouring out from his Hero’s very soul? He sets down the bottles and moves so he is nearly hovering over Link, carefully placing a hand over the burn and lighting it with a warm glow.

Link gasps and looked up, his teary eyes flying open to meet Sidon’s as the prince slips a hand over his cheek, his claws carefully threading their way into Link’s hair.

There isn’t a pause this time.

“Link, may I kiss you?” 

A nod is all it takes, it’s all Sidon needs. He moves forward, eyes closing as he feels a soft pair of lips meet his own, and he feels himself go dizzy. They’re so smooth, were all Hylian lips like this? No, he decided, only Link’s could feel this way. Only Link.

Link’s ‘losing his shit’ meter has broken, he doesn’t know what he’s feeling anymore, but gods did he know it was good. He doesn’t move an inch when Sidon first kisses him, his brain is too full of confusion and happiness and absolute shock- is this really happening?. He feels the warmth on his side waver, and Sidon begins to pull away- but Link is having none of that. He’s done with the miscommunication.

His arms suddenly shoot to life and wrap around Sidon’s neck, pulling him closer and gently opening his lips as the Zora almost falls on top of Link. Sidon lest out a small yelp as he takes his hand away from the Hylian’s side and uses his arm to quickly redirect their trajectory, flipping the pair over so Sidon was on his back and Link carefully sat on top of him, not wanting to crush the poor Hylian while he’s still healing.

Link gasps at the sudden change, but that doesn’t stop him from kissing Sidon again and wrapping his hands behind the Zora’s headfin. He had been waiting too long for this- they both had been waiting too long for this. Sidon places a hand back on Link’s side as his warm glow not only covers the burn, but encapsulates Link’s entire body, and holy shit does Link love every second of it. The warmth pools from his side until it covers every inch of his being, he swears he can feel it in his soul. A second smooth arm wraps around Link’s back and pulled him close as lips refuse to part and warmth is shared from much more than Sidon’s healing. They’re both lost, Sidon still marveling at how delicate Link feels, and Link losing himself in the mass of muscles and heat lying beneath him. How can this have happened? How can something so wonderful and so amazing happen to him? To either of them?

It’s only when Link needs to breathe that he pulls away, and it’s all Sidon could do without pulling Link right back in, but he can see the deep breaths the hero his taking, and for once (now that he’s allowing himself) he can feel just how fast the Hylian’s heart is beating above him.

Both sit, trading heavy breaths as Link falls forward and lands on the expanse of white beneath him. He can hear it again, the dull beating of a Zora heart, and he knows his can be heard as well, even though thick skin and muscles.

They lay there for a moment, for once reveling in the silence instead of dreading it - no signs or words to misinterpret, no actions to excuse away - just actions they wish to do again.

The sky is black and littered with stars the next time Sidon opens his eyes, the only signs of light are found at the edge of the horizon. He can hear the winds rushing through the cliffs surrounding the reservoir, their whistles failing to calm the pounding in his chest. He opens his eyes to Link, who had crawled close to the prince and hidden his face against in the crook of Sidon’s neck. His cheeks felt warm against smooth skin, and it was clear that Sidon’s heart wasn’t the only one racing. He smiles warmly and runs his hands along Link’s back, careful not to drag his claws against the wound. Link sighs and tucks himself further into the Zora’s arms.

“You know, Link, there are other ways to vie for my affection that don’t involve throwing yourself against a Lynel,” Sidon chuckles as he slips a clawed hand into Link’s hair, smiling when he saw the Hylian let his head fall into the movement.

Link blushed and looked away for a second, [I’m aware]. 

“Really? Then this wasn’t an elaborate ruse to get me to confess my feelings, was it?” Sidon teases, laughing as Link shoves his chest and rolls his eyes, 

“No… but I’m not good with words.”

“I beg to differ,” Sidon hums, moving his head forward to meet Link’s, “You left me quite speechless. But I must admit, your actions are also quite desirable.”

Link smirks as the blush on his cheeks grow, “You were the one who acted this time…”

“Only because of your words, even if they were stolen from me,” Sidon chuckled, dragging his hand down Link’s side and resting it on the Hylian’s hip. Link shakes his head, still smiling as he slipped his fingers underneath Sidon’s headtail, stroking the soft skin as he thought over his words, 

“Thank you…”

Sidon smiles, “Don’t thank me just yet, my friend. The next time you’re injured and don’t come right to the domain for me to heal you, I’ll throw you off of shatterback point myself,” Sidon chuckles as he reaches over Link and grabs the edge of a blanket to pull over them.

Link smiles, letting out a deep breath as he closes his eyes and lets himself be covered by thick blankets and warm arms. He could get used to this. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! This is the first fic I've posted for any of the fandoms I'm in. I've written a lot, but I've never had the courage to post anything until now!! Silink is one of my favorite ships from botw and I've been wanting to write a "they get together" fic for the longest time. I hope you enjoyed my writing! If there's anything I need to fix editing-wise, please let me know, I'm absolutely awful with grammar and I could use all of the help I can get!
> 
> A quite note about Link's signing. I did the best I could to represent Link's sign language as best as I could, I didn't want to go with the direct translations from sign for the dialogue because I didn't want to make Link sound less educated just because he was signing. Basically, I tried to be as respectful as I could with my translations, so I wrote them the way that I figured Sidon would interpret them. If you sign/are hard of hearing and have a problem with how I've written Link's lines, please let me know and I would be happy to edit! I tried to do a bit of research beforehand, but it's hard to properly write lines for sign language when I'm not fluent.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! Again, if you want more content from other great artists, authors, and generally cool people from the fandom, look up #hyruleprideweek on Tumblr, and check out lozbotwfanart on there as well. (I'm fansionista-link on Tumblr if anyone wants to check me out! I'll probably be posting more Silink in the future!)


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